5.4 Waste and climate change

Summary

This module discusses the significant link between waste management and climate change, emphasizing the role of methane and nitrous oxide emissions from landfills and wastewater. It highlights the underestimated impact of waste on global greenhouse gas emissions and explores potential reduction strategies, including landfill gas recovery, waste diversion, and recycling. The script also introduces carbon trading mechanisms like the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and the emerging Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMA), showcasing examples of successful waste management projects in reducing emissions.

Takeaways

• ♻️ Climate change is primarily caused by human activities that increase greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide.
• 🌡 Methane is 25 times more potent than CO2, and nitrous oxide is 298 times more potent in warming the Earth over a century.
• 🌐 Greenhouse gases are often measured in terms of CO2 equivalents to standardize their impact.
• 🌑 Black carbon, resulting from incomplete biomass combustion, is a significant but currently unquantified climate pollutant.
• 🔥 Burning waste is a typical source of black carbon, which is a topic of growing interest and research.
• 🗺️ The waste sector contributes 3-5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, mainly through methane from landfills and wastewater.
• 🌱 Waste management, including recycling and reducing waste transport, could potentially reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 10-20%.
• 💡 Landfill gas recovery and electricity production are effective ways to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.
• 🌿 Composting, anaerobic digestion, and thermal processes can reduce emissions and substitute other resource-intensive processes.
• 💼 Carbon trading mechanisms like the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) allow countries to earn carbon credits for emission reductions, including waste management projects.
• 🌍 NAMAs (Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions) are voluntary commitments by countries to reduce emissions, with financial assistance from developed nations.

Q & A

What is the primary cause of global warming and climate change?

The primary cause of global warming and climate change is the increase in average global temperatures, mainly due to human activities that increase greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and other industrial gases.

How does methane compare to carbon dioxide in terms of its potency as a greenhouse gas?

Methane is 25 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide over a 100-year period.

What is the role of black carbon in climate change?

Black carbon, resulting from incomplete combustion of biomass, is an important short-lived climate pollutant. It is typically produced by burning waste and contributes to climate change, although it is not yet included in the quantification of greenhouse gas emissions due to the lack of a standardized comparison metric.

How does the waste sector contribute to global greenhouse gas emissions?

The waste sector contributes to global greenhouse gas emissions primarily through methane emissions from landfills, methane and nitrous oxide from wastewater treatment, and minor CO2 and nitrous oxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels.

What is the estimated percentage of global greenhouse gas emissions that could be reduced by the waste management sector?

It is estimated that around ten to twenty percent of global greenhouse gas emissions could potentially be reduced by the waste management sector through various measures.

What are some methods to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from waste management?

Some methods to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from waste management include landfill gas recovery, diversion from landfills through composting or anaerobic digestion, thermal processes, and waste minimization, recycling, and reuse.

How does carbon trading work in the context of waste management projects?

Carbon trading involves purchasing emission reduction credits or allowances from other sources, such as waste management projects in low and middle-income countries, which have mitigated emissions of CO2 equivalents. Mechanisms like the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) allow projects in developing countries to earn carbon credits that can be used by industrialized countries to meet their emission reduction targets.

What is the significance of the Doña Juana landfill project in Bogota, Colombia?

The Doña Juana landfill project in Bogota, Colombia, is one of the largest Clean Development Mechanism projects in Latin America, which started in 2009 and was fully operational by the end of 2010. It has significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions, with a total reduction estimated to be 14.8 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent over its 22-year lifespan.

What is NAMA and how does it relate to waste management?

NAMA stands for nationally appropriate mitigation action, which refers to a set of policies and actions that countries undertake voluntarily to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It includes a wide range of actions such as policies, strategies, research, development, training, and capacity building, and can involve waste management projects as part of the efforts to reduce emissions.

Why is the contribution of the waste sector to greenhouse gas emissions considered to be underestimated?

The contribution of the waste sector to greenhouse gas emissions is considered to be underestimated because certain aspects of waste management, such as the benefits of recycling or reducing transport of waste, are not fully considered in the current quantification methods.

What is the global average contribution of the waste sector to greenhouse gas emissions?

The global average contribution of the waste sector, including wastewater, to greenhouse gas emissions is only 3-5%. However, this figure is believed to be an underestimate.

Outlines

00:00

🌍 Climate Change and Waste Management

This paragraph introduces the link between waste management and climate change. It explains that global warming and climate change are primarily caused by human activities that increase greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. The script highlights that methane is 25 times more potent than CO2, and nitrous oxide is 298 times more potent. It also introduces black carbon, a short-lived climate pollutant resulting from incomplete combustion of biomass, which is particularly relevant to waste management. The World Resources Institute's infograph is mentioned as a tool to explore different countries' and sectors' contributions to greenhouse gas emissions, with an example of Indonesia's waste sector contributing 8% to its total CO2 equivalent emissions.

05:06

🌱 Mitigating Greenhouse Gases in Waste Management

This section discusses various methods to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in the waste management sector. It mentions landfill gas recovery and electricity production as an example from South Africa, where landfill gas is collected and transformed into electricity. The paragraph also covers other mitigation measures such as composting, anaerobic digestion, and thermal processes, which not only avoid emissions but also substitute other resources like chemical fertilizers or fossil fuels. The importance of waste minimization, recycling, and reuse in reducing greenhouse gas emissions is emphasized. The concept of carbon trading is introduced, including the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and the voluntary market, with a focus on how projects in low and middle-income countries can earn carbon credits. The Doña Juana landfill in Bogota, Colombia, is given as an example of a successful CDM project that has significantly reduced CO2 equivalent emissions.

10:09

🌱 NAMA and Future Emission Reduction Strategies

The final paragraph summarizes the key points discussed in the module, including the sources of greenhouse gas emissions from waste management and strategies to reduce them, such as landfill gas recovery, waste diversion, and recycling. It also reviews carbon trading mechanisms like the Clean Development Mechanism, using the Doña Juana landfill project in Bogota as an example. The concept of NAMA (Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions) is introduced as a set of voluntary actions that countries undertake to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with an emphasis on the need for financial assistance from developed to developing countries. The paragraph concludes by thanking the listener for their attention.

Keywords

💡Climate Change

Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns, primarily caused by human activities that increase heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In the video, climate change is the central theme, with a focus on how waste management practices contribute to global warming through the emission of greenhouse gases.

💡Greenhouse Gases

Greenhouse gases are gases that trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere, leading to global warming. The video mentions carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide as key greenhouse gases, with methane being 25 times more potent than CO2 and nitrous oxide 298 times more potent.

💡Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that is primarily produced by the burning of fossil fuels. In the context of the video, CO2 is the main contributor to climate change and is used as a reference point for measuring the impact of other greenhouse gases.

💡Methane

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that is 25 times more effective at trapping heat than CO2. The video highlights that methane emissions, particularly from landfills, are a significant contributor to climate change within the waste management sector.

💡Nitrous Oxide

Nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas that is 298 times more potent than CO2 over a 100-year period. While not the main focus, the video notes its role in climate change, especially in the context of wastewater management.

💡Black Carbon

Black carbon refers to small black particles in the atmosphere, resulting from incomplete combustion of biomass, including waste burning. The video identifies black carbon as an important short-lived climate pollutant, although it is not yet included in standard emission quantifications.

💡CO2 Equivalents

CO2 equivalents are a standard unit for comparing the emissions of different greenhouse gases based on their global warming potential relative to CO2. The video uses this unit to discuss the total impact of various greenhouse gas emissions from waste management activities.

💡Landfill Gas Recovery

Landfill gas recovery involves capturing and utilizing the methane and other gases produced in landfills. The video presents this as a method for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, either by flaring the gas or converting it to electricity, as exemplified by a project in South Africa.

💡Carbon Trading

Carbon trading is a market-based system where entities can buy and sell the right to emit greenhouse gases. The video discusses mechanisms like the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), where projects in developing countries can earn carbon credits for emission reductions.

💡Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)

The Clean Development Mechanism is a Kyoto Protocol initiative that allows developed countries to invest in emission-reducing projects in developing countries and earn certified emission reduction credits. The video provides an example of a CDM project in Bogota, Colombia, that reduced a significant amount of CO2 equivalents.

💡Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs)

NAMAs are voluntary actions that countries undertake to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with financial support from developed countries. The video introduces NAMAs as a new concept for future climate change mitigation strategies, emphasizing the need for tailored actions based on national capabilities.

Highlights

Climate change is primarily caused by human activities, mainly through the increase in greenhouse gases.

Methane is 25 times more potent than CO2, and nitrous oxide is 298 times more potent.

Greenhouse gases are often compared to CO2 using a metric called tons of CO2 equivalents.

Black carbon, resulting from incomplete combustion of biomass, is an important short-lived climate pollutant.

Black carbon is typically produced by burning waste and is a topic of growing interest.

The waste sector contributes 3-5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, primarily through methane emissions from landfills.

The contribution of the waste sector to greenhouse gas emissions is believed to be underestimated.

Recycling and reducing transport of waste can significantly reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.

Around 10 to 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced by waste management sector.

Landfill gas recovery and electricity production are effective methods for reducing emissions.

Waste minimization, recycling, and reuse indirectly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by conserving raw materials and avoiding fossil fuels.

Governments and companies can purchase emission reduction credits to offset their emissions.

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) allows projects in developing countries to earn carbon credits.

Waste-related projects account for approximately 18% of all CDM projects.

The Doña Juana landfill in Bogota, Colombia, is an example of a successful CDM project.

NAMA is a new concept introduced for voluntary commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

NAMA emphasizes the need for financial assistance from developed countries to developing countries to reduce emissions.

The module summarizes the link between waste management and climate change, and discusses methods for emission reduction.

Transcripts

Hi, in this module I'd like to talk about

the link between waste management and climate change. I'm quite sure that

you're familiar with the climate change challenge, but here just a reminder as a

small repetition. Global warming and climate change

refers to an increase in average global temperatures with various human activity

as the main cause for this.The increase in average global temperature is caused

primarily by increases in greenhouse gases, as shown here on the right.

Predominantly carbon dioxide but also other gases, such as methane, nitrous

oxide and other fluorinated industrial gases, which are however less relevant in the

waste management discussion. What you see in this list, is also this number, showing

how much more this gas would warm the earth over a hundred year period as

compared to carbon dioxide. So, methane is 25 times as potent as CO2 and nitrous

oxide even 298 times more potent. What is done in this

whole greenhouse gas discussion, is to relate these different gases to CO2,

using this number. And the unit is then tons of CO2 equivalents. Besides the gases

research has also identified another substance that can have a large impact

on climate and its relevance to the waste management sector. This is called

black carbon, which are small black particles in the atmosphere, resulting

from incomplete combustion of biomass. Black carbon has been recognized as an

important short lived

climate pollutant. Black carbon is not yet included in the whole emission

quantification as there is yet no good or agreed metric to compare black

carbon with other greenhouse gases. As mentioned, black carbon is a typical

result of burning waste. This whole issue of black carbon is clearly a topic of

growing interest, which in future will need much more attention and research.

Now, let us have a look, how different countries and how the waste sector

contributes to global greenhouse gas emissions. This infograph of the World

Resources Institute allows you to look at different countries and sectors

contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. The inner circle differentiates between

the top 10 countries and the others. The countries are then shown in the middle

section with the top 10 shown in colors. Finally, the outer circle shows the

emission contributions by sector. First, we shall click on Indonesia, shown here

in bright red. The total CO2 equivalent emissions are 760 tons,

as shown in the grey bar above. While the waste emissions are 69 tons, so

the contribution of the waste sector is 8%. Why don't you google this infograph

and search for your own country in the list and the emissions contribution of

the waste sector. Compare this with other countries and share your views on this in our forum.

In the global average, the waste sector including wastewater

contributes only 3-5% of the global greenhouse gas emissions.

This is mainly through methane emissions from landfills, methane and nitrous

oxide from wastewater and some minor CO2 and nitrous oxide from burning of fossil

carbon. However, experts agree that this contribution is severely underestimated

because certain

aspects of waste management are not considered. For instance, the contribution

of recycling or of reducing transport of waste through recycling. It has been

estimated at around ten to twenty percent of global greenhouse gas

emissions could be reduced by the waste management sector. This can be by

projects that recover landfill gas to either flare it or convert it to

electricity or by methods adapting the landfill management. For instance,

landfill aeriation to avoid methane generation or also by utilizing cover

soil as a way to reduce methane emissions from landfills through the

methane

oxidizing effect of soil bacteria. Here is an example of landfill gas recovery

and electricity production from South Africa. On the left, you can see the

landfill in its early stages being filled, and on the right, the infrastructure

where the collected landfill gas is transformed to electricity.

In the background of the picture on the right you can see the final landfill cells

with soil and grass cover. Other greenhouse gas mitigation measures are

avoiding disposal in landfills either by composting anaerobic digestion or

thermal processes. Here is not only the effect of meeting avoidance that play a

role but also the substitution of other resources. For composting, this is

substitution of chemical fertilizer which are energy intense in their

production. Or for anaerobic digestion and combustion it may be the

substitution of fossil fuel energy resources.

Finally, in addition also waste minimization recycling and reuse

represent an important and increasing potential for indirect reduction of

greenhouse gas emissions through the conservation of

raw materials and fossil fuel avoidance. Any government or individual company is

free to choose how they will reduce emissions. One mechanism is that they

purchase emission reduction credits or allowances from other sources, for

instance from waste management project in low and middle income countries, which

have mitigated emissions of CO2 equivalents. They're different schemes

that help regulate and control these emission reduction units. The clean

Development Mechanism CDM is a market-based mechanism under the Kyoto

Protocol where projects in developing countries can earn carbon credits

equivalent to the amount of CO2 they have reduced or avoided. These credits

can then be used by industrialized countries to meet a part of their

emission reduction targets. This is what is called the compliance market based on

the Kyoto Protocol agreements of each country. CDM has registered methodologies

on how emission reductions are calculated, but also standardized and monitored and

also verified as these for their registered projects before issuing the certified

emission reduction units. Similarly the carbon finance unit of the World Bank

uses money by governments and companies in OECD countries to purchase carbon

credits, generated by projects in low- and middle-income countries. Finally, there is

also a voluntary market, which uses other certification measures and standards to

issue voluntary emission reduction units. Waste related projects account for

approximately 18% of all CDM projects. Since the beginning of CDM, around 200

municipal solid waste project have been registered worldwide. However, nearly 90%

of registered solid waste projects involve landfill gas flaring

and recovering.

And most of these projects have been submitted by middle-income countries.

the lowest income countries have generally not yet

benefitted from this mechanism. Here is an example from the Doña Juana

landfill in Bogota Colombia. It is one of the largest Clean Development Mechanism

projects in Latin America. The project started in 2009 and was 100% operational by

the end of 2010. For the period of January to June 2015, the emission

reduction amounted to 340000 tons of CO2 equivalent.

Total greenhouse gas emission reduction is estimated to be 14.8

million tonnes of CO2 equivalent over the entire 22 year life of the

project. After the climate conference in Bali in 2007, a new concept was

introduced: the nationally appropriate mitigation action NAMA. This refers to a

set of policies and actions that country's undertake as a voluntary

commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It recognizes that different

countries may take different actions depending on their respective

capabilities. It also emphasizes the need of financial assistance from developed

countries to developing countries, to reduce emissions. It can include a wide

range of actions: policies, strategies, research or development, even training

and capacity development, and of course projects. So, let me summarize what we

have covered in this module. We have talked about greenhouse gas emissions, in

general but specifically also from waste management. We've talked about how

greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced, either by landfill gas recovery or

diversions from landfills or waste minimization recycling

and reuse. We looked at different carbon trading measures, specifically at the

clean development mechanisms, with one example from Bogota, Colombia and we looked

towards the future with the new mechanisms such as NAMA. Thank you for

listening.